Harry Potter and the Edge of Life
by SoberDylan
Summary: After the war, everything is destroyed. Death has permeated everything, but amidst all the tragedy, two people come back into Harry's life, two people who will set life in motion. Can they help rebuild the wizarding world, after all that has happened?
1. Chapter 1

Harry still had nightmares of the day he died, even now, months after the battle. He would wake screaming in the middle of the night, in his room on the first floor of 12 Grimmauld Place, and Kreacher would bring him a cup of tea and stay with him until the cold sweats subsided.

Hermione and Ron had returned to their families, Hermione thankfully finding her parents in Australia and restoring their memories. They were still very angry at her, but she was working on it. Ron and the Weasleys were in mourning for Fred.

Harry avoided The Burrow, feeling guilty for his slowness, for not working out sooner that he had to die. If he had watched Snape's memories earlier he could have saved Fred, or so he thought. Ron and Ginny wrote imploring letters, even in their grief, for him to come and be with them. Hermione, too, wrote letters full of common sense, appealing to his sense of reason, but he didn't open them.

After a while, they stopped writing.

He woke one morning two months after the battle, feeling marginally better. He went downstairs and made breakfast, sitting at the kitchen table. He tried not to see the ghosts of his friends that had sat there so often. A pile of post was on the table, and for the first time he felt a flicker of curiosity and he reached for the first letter.

Hermione. Ron. Ginny. Molly. Arthur. George, even. Kingsley. Andromeda. Luna.

The first few letters were simply trying to convince him to stop being a recluse. There were invitations to dinner at the Weasleys; to attend his own birthday party, to attend the funerals of Fred, Remus and Tonks. He felt a sharp pain in his gut as he noticed the dates on the letters. He had missed saying goodbye to his friends, had been lost in his own guilt and shame. How selfish had he been?

The letter from Kingsley was a question. Do you want to join the Auror programme?

Luna's letter, however, was puzzling. She spoke about the Veil, about her early graduation from Hogwarts and job in the Department of Mysteries. She talked of a 'great shock', 'a realisation that magic is infinite and without boundaries', and that 'Harry had torn nature's laws by his sacrifice'.

And she ended the letter with a final, mind-blowing sentence.

"Harry, your parents are alive."

The date on the letter was today.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily and James Potter sat in the Head Unspeakable's office, pale and silent. The last moments of their lives filled their heads: James' last stand, the flash of green light, the final horror that Lily would be in danger and Lily's grief and realisation that she was the last barrier between Voldemort and her son.

The blond haired, blue eyed girl who had been there when they woke came into the office and sat down.

"Good afternoon Mr and Mrs Potter, I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm really sorry, but we're going to have to give you Veritaserum to confirm your identity before we can let you go."

"I thought we were dead," James said, "I remember the Avada Kedavra and fighting Voldemort."

"Me too, I died soon after James, and Harry, oh, poor Harry, I don't know what became of him," Lily cried. James put his arm around her, tears escaping his own eyes.

"I didn't know you were dead, love," he murmured. "I thought, in those last seconds, of the danger you were in, but I hoped."

Lily smiled at him.

"My darling, we're alive now, somehow, and that is what matters. But we must find out what happened to Harry."

Luna smiled at them serenely. She withdrew a vial of clear potion from her robes and placed it on the table. James reached for it first and placed three drops on his tongue, swallowing. His eyes glazed.

"What is your name?" Luna asked.

"James Charlus Potter," he answered, his voice dull.

"What is your Animagus form?"

"A stag," he replied.

"What magical item did you create with your friends?"

"The Marauder's Map."

Luna turned to Lily. Lily took the potion without hesitation, her expression full of wonder and sorrow.

"What is your name?"

"Lily Madelaine Potter."

"What is the form your Patronus takes?"

"A doe," she answered dreamily.

"In the last moments of your life, what did you think?"

"Harry, not Harry, take me, but not Harry," she said, expressionless.

Luna sat back and waited as first James, then Lily, recovered from the effects of the potion.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Lily and James," she said beaming. Lily and James looked at each other.

"What happens now?" James asked.

"And has this happened to anyone else?" Lily asked eagerly.

Luna smiled.

"You can return to your lives. I understand that this may be hard, as the world has changed a great deal. Voldemort was killed, for good, two months ago, and the Death Eaters are being rounded up as we speak. That's the most important thing. Nobody else has come through that Veil," she continued, turning to Lily. "Just you two, and we don't know why, but I have an idea. I'd rather not share it at the moment though."

Lily and James shared an amused look.

"Are you in any way related to Albus Dumbledore?" James asked. Luna shook her head.

"That is a great compliment, however," she said. "He was one of the greatest wizards who ever lived."

Lily felt a rush of sadness. So Dumbledore was dead, too.

There was a knock at the door and Luna stood up, her face alight.

Harry Potter stood on the other side.

* * *

Harry had never moved so quickly. He performed a series of charms on the letter before affirming it was genuine, then rushed upstairs to dress.

"Kreacher, I'll be back later. Get a double room ready, the nicest one in the house," he shouted as he shut the door, "and cook a huge feast!"

Kreacher emerged from the dining room, where he had been dusting.

"Master is going out?" he whispered.

Harry apparated to the Ministry and used the Visitors entrance. He hardly spared a glance for the immense Atrium as he rushed towards the elevators. He sped along the corridor he had travelled so many times in his dreams, and knocked at the round door at the end. It swung open.

"Come this way, Mr Potter," a hooded man said, as they walked along a series of dark corridors.

"Knock on this door," he said, before heading back the way they had come. At least, Harry thought that was the way he had come. He dutifully raised his fist to knock, his arm shaking. He could hear nothing from within.

Seconds later, the door swung open and he saw the backs of two very familiar heads and one Luna Lovegood, smiling at him with the happiest expression he had ever seen on a human being.

"Mr Potter, you're just on time," Luna beamed. "Please come in. I have performed identity checks, so halt that natural suspicion and just accept this great act of love."

Harry approached the desk as his parents turned around. Their eyes widened as they saw his dark, messy hair and emerald eyes, identical to his mother's.

"Harry?" Lily said, gripping James' hand for support.

Harry felt his eyes mist up.

"They remember nothing but their last moments," Luna said.

Harry smiled.

"You succeeded, Mum," Harry said, "you too, Dad."

James shouted in delight and stood, rushing over to Harry and holding him close. Lily still sat there, the sorrow in her eyes fading with every moment.

"You're really okay?" Lily asked, standing and taking Harry from James, holding him close. "Gosh, you've got so big!"

Everyone laughed. Lily stroked her son's cheek, her eyes flicking to the scar on his forehead.

"There's a long story to tell," Harry said, noticing the direction of her eyes, "but I'd rather tell it over dinner. I have a feast prepared and a room for you, at least, in a few hours. I didn't have much notice."

"Where are you living, Harry?" Lily asked.

"At Sirius' house," he answered.

"He takes care of you, then?" James asked eagerly.

Harry sighed and glanced at Luna, who smiled supportively.

"Sirius left me the house," he said, the grief rising within him again. So many people had died. Lily laid a comforting hand on James' shoulder.

"Let's go, then," Lily said. "You can explain it all later."

Luna led them from the department, and Harry Apparated them back to Grimmauld Place once they had left the building. The house emerged from the two on either side and Harry climbed the steps.

"It's still rather…Dark," Harry said hesitantly, as he opened the door. He led them straight to the kitchen, where a warm fire roared and the table was laid for three.

"Master, I have made a small snack for now while the feast is prepared," Kreacher said, his small body swamped by a white apron. Harry smiled fondly at him.

"Thank you, Kreacher," Harry said. He heard a snort of amusement from behind him. James sat down, laughing.

"What?" Harry said.

"Sirius must have got a new house elf, because the one he always went on about was definitely not friendly."

"Same elf," Harry said nonchalantly, sitting down and helping himself to a crumpet and a cup of tea.

"That's your genes coming out then, Lily," James said, his voice gruff. "You could make anyone like you."

Lily beamed at Harry, who basked in his parents' approval.

The story Harry told them was hard for his parents to hear, full of pain and suffering and sacrifice, and it broke their hearts to hear what Harry had done. He felt their anger at Dumbledore grow, the disgust and pity they felt for Pettigrew and their grief at the deaths of Remus and Sirius. Lily even let out a cry of surprise and pain when he reached Snape's part of the story.

"Harry, we…" Lily struggled to express 17 lost years.

"I'll leave you alone for a bit," Harry said. "I ought to go and talk to my friends, tell them the news."

James nodded at him in gratitude and Harry Flooed to The Burrow. Lily and James were left to realise what they had just heard.


	3. Chapter 3

When Harry appeared in the yard at The Burrow, he had approximately one second of peace before he was engulfed by a pair of bony arms and a mane of red hair.

"Harry, you idiot," Ginny mumbled into his shirt. "You missed your birthday."

Harry laughed and hugged her tight.

"I'm so sorry, Gin. I've been a mess, haven't seen anyone."

Ginny looked up at him.

"You look thin," she said. "You know Mum's going to go mad."

Harry sighed.

"Let's get it over and done with."

Ginny took his hand firmly and they entered the house. Breakfast was ongoing, and the entire Weasley family and Hermione stopped eating and looked at him for a moment in silence, before exploding.

"Harry!" "Sit down, eat!" "Where have you been?" "Good to see you, mate!"

"Have you been starving yourself?" Molly asked, as Ginny offered him the seat next to her and she sat gratefully. Molly piled his plate with food.

"Don't talk until you've eaten that."

"But I've got news," he protested.

"Not until you've finished," she said firmly, brooking no further argument.

Harry gave up and started to eat, but he felt Hermione's eyes on him and knew she was perceptive enough to realise something big had happened.

He swallowed his last bite of sausage and set his knife and fork down.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked clearly.

"This morning, I had a letter from Luna," Harry said, "which said that my parents were alive."

Hermione gasped and Ginny gripped his arm in shock.

"I saw them. They're alive, with their last memories being the night they died."

"Why do you think they came back?" Hermione asked, her hands twitching, as if she couldn't wait to get to her books.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know; I'm just happy they are. Luna said something about the laws of nature being broken by my sacrifice."

Harry said the last two words quietly.

"Sacrifice?"

Harry remembered now that he hadn't told anyone what had happened in the forest. They didn't know about Harry being a Horcrux, about him dying. Could he tell them all? He supposed there wasn't any need for secrecy about Horcruxes now that they were all gone and Voldemort defeated.

"Voldemort," he began, and a few of the Weasleys winced, "split his soul in seven to become immortal. Murder was required for each split of his soul. It is a Dark magic that reduces the person who commits it to less than human. Last year, Ron, Hermione and I hunted down these Horcruxes and destroyed them. Tom Riddle's diary, which I destroyed in my second year, was the first."

Everyone glanced at Ginny, who was staring at Harry, a curious expression on her face.

"Dumbledore told me in fifth year about the Horcruxes and why they had to be destroyed. He destroyed one, the Gaunt family ring, and identified another, Slytherin's locket.

"Last year, we broke into the Ministry for Magic and Gringotts, destroying Slytherin's locket and finding another Horcrux, Hufflepuff's cup, in the Lestranges' vault. Hermione and Ron destroyed it with a basilisk fang from the Chamber of Secrets, and then we found another in the Room of Requirement: Ravenclaw's Diadem."

"But we weren't sure what the remaining two were, until Snape gave me some memories before he was murdered by Voldemort.

"Those memories told me Snape's true allegiance, the identity of the last two Horcruxes and the truth: that he had always loved my mother, and he had been helping us the whole time. He sent us Gryffindor's sword."

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry in amazement.

"But what were the last two Horcruxes?" Ginny asked.

"Nagini, Voldemort's snake, who Neville beheaded with Gryffindor's sword," Harry said, grinning. "I told him to kill it as I went in to the forest."

"Why did you go, Harry? We would have kept fighting, to the end," George said.

"You shouldn't have to, not when I could end it with my death. I was the last Horcrux, you see, made with my mother's death and the evil act of trying to kill a child, and so I had to die in order for Voldemort to be defeated."

Hermione began to cry silently, and Harry could feel Ginny shaking next to him, but he needed to finish.

"It was the only way that Voldemort could be killed. I did it because it had to be done, because I didn't want anyone else to be killed! However, it didn't happen quite the way he wanted. My mother's protection, given to Voldemort when he took my blood, kept me tethered to life while he still lived. So the Killing Curse simply removed the Horcrux.

"I woke in Kings Cross station, and Dumbledore was there to meet me. He explained what had happened, and told me I had a choice: I could go back and finish it all, or move on. I chose to come back.

"Narcissa Malfoy was told to check whether I was dead. She asked me whether Draco was in the castle: I said yes. She then told Voldemort I was dead. He Crucioed me, but it didn't hurt. Then he made Hagrid carry me to the edge of the forest. None of Voldemort's spells were holding. I disappeared under the cloak after Neville killed Nagini and waited until the right moment. Well, you all saw what happened then."

There was a silence, then, that was full of pain and awe and respect.

"Oh Harry," Hermione whispered. "You are the truest Gryffindor that ever was."

"Hear, hear!" George said, standing up and beginning to clap. The others rose and did the same. Harry sat there, embarrassed, as Ginny held his hand so tight he wasn't sure whether she wanted to hurt him. He turned to her. There were tears in her eyes.

"I love you so much, Harry," she said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. Harry felt warm, comfortable, as if he had finally come home. What had he been thinking the last two months?

"Hey, woah, you guys," Ron shouted, his face scarlet. Hermione laughed and put her arm around him.

"Leave them to it, Ron," Hermione said. "He did sacrifice his life for everyone on earth."

Ron mumbled something unintelligible, but looked at Harry with a proud expression.

"So your selfless act may have disrupted death?" Hermione said.

Harry shrugged.

"Well, they're back. I've just told them the whole story; they have a lot to process."

"We have a lot to process too," Ginny said, standing up and walking from the kitchen.

"Gin?" Harry said, standing up.

"No, please, I'll see you later, Harry, but I need to be alone now," she said, heading into the garden.

"Does she mean it, or do I go after her?" Harry asked the kitchen at large, clueless. Molly smiled at him fondly.

"Saviour of the wizarding world, but he still can't figure out girls," Arthur said.

"Don't tease him," Molly said gently. "Go after her, dear."

Harry ventured out into the garden, spying Ginny's red hair behind one of the apple trees in the orchard. He walked slowly towards her, and she turned to face him when he was a metre away.

"Harry, I'm angry at you," she said bluntly. Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"No, don't interrupt me," she said. "It's something I'll keep getting angry about if we're going to be together, but I need to let you know how I feel.

"Harry, you always try to protect everyone. You did it last year, by breaking up with me and leaving me, to save everyone else. I'm mad that you didn't trust me, but took Ron and Hermione."

"I didn't want to," Harry interrupted quickly.

"Maybe I didn't try hard enough, or maybe I knew my opposition would be Ron as well as you, but I'm mad that you didn't treat me as your equal. Tom Riddle possessed me, Harry. I had that diary for most of my first year. I could have helped you with this, but you overlooked me. Just like I'm mad that you decided to die without saying goodbye."

"You would have stopped me," Harry whispered.

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, Harry. I'm just saying that in future, if we're going to be together, you have to trust me to support you in your decisions. Trust my advice. You aren't always right."

Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said, stepping towards her. She let him, and he hugged her this time.

"I do trust you. I knew it would be harder on me, and on you, if I said goodbye. I may have lost my resolve. It was the hardest thing I ever did, walking past you.

"And yes, we are going to be together, Gin. I want to, if you want me?"

Ginny laughed.

"Of course I do, idiot. I've been waiting for you these last two months while you were languishing in that dark hole of a house."

Harry laughed.

"It suited my mood."

"Go, on, you'd better get back to your parents," Ginny said. "Leave the whys to Hermione and Luna, and you just enjoy yourself."

They walked back to the house, and Harry took his leave.

"I'll expect you all at six," he said, as he walked to the apparition point.


	4. Chapter 4

James and Lily sat by the fire in the library at Grimmauld Place. Lily rested her head on James' shoulder, tears trickling down her cheek.

"Why did we ever trust Peter?" Lily said, the first words out of her mouth. James shifted a little in his seat.

"I'm not proud of the way we treated him at school, Lily. Everyone thought Sirius would be the obvious choice, because he was the only choice, really. Remus was depressed; we hadn't heard from him for a while, so Peter was by default, the only one left. I was selfish, I didn't want to put Sirius in danger, but I was willing to risk Peter."

Lily nodded and patted his hand.

"And Sirius ended up dead anyway," James said, defeated.

"I'm glad Harry gave us this time to work through it alone. It's an incredible story," Lily said after a pause.

James cleared his throat.

"I'm so proud of him," he said, a tremor in his voice, "and I'm so humbled to be given the chance to hear what has happened to him."

Lily smiled.

"We've got some friends beyond the Veil, I think," she said. "I'm happy, for now, to let it be a blessing and not to question it."

James started crying. Massive, choking sobs that shook his whole body. He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. Lily slid her arm around his shoulders and gripped him tight, silent.

"He's...we've missed so much...he was tiny, a little baby, and now his eyes look so sad and that scar, and he looks so old. Who is he?"

"I'm your son," Harry said from the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt. Shall I come back?"

Lily leapt up and hugged him.

"Don't ever leave again," she whispered, as she released him and pulled him forwards to sit down between them. Harry waved his wand at the fireplace in silence and a fire roared.

"It's hard for me too," he said, putting his wand away, "for you it's a second of oblivion before you're back, at least that's what Luna suggested, but for me it's been 16 years. I was told you died in a car crash by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and only found out the truth when I got my letter for Hogwarts, as you know."

"We know, Harry. We've missed out on so much," Lily said. "We could have helped you."

Harry's eyes welled up.

"You did," he said. "When I faced Voldemort in the graveyard and when I went into the forest to die. You were there. Maybe just as a memory; some imprint you left behind, but you helped me."

Lily and James gazed at each other, smiling. James nodded.

"Harry, why don't you give us a tour of this house? I came here a couple of times, but after a while Sirius didn't want to be here, and my house was a lot cheerier anyway."

Harry wiped his eyes with his hand and stood up.

He showed them all over the house, from the warm, clean kitchen to the grand drawing room at the front of the house, overlooking the street. When they reached the room Harry had asked Kreacher to prepare, he paused.

"This is your room. I don't intend on staying here forever, but I hope you will want to stay with me?"

Lily smiled.

"Harry, what would you say if we could live somewhere else?"

The crease on Harry's forehead disappeared.

"I'd say that would be amazing, because living where Sirius used to be so unhappy is hell."

"Our house in Godric's Hollow was our first home; but we were always going to live in my parents old house when we had children. I'm sure it's still there; you won't have heard of it considering it was to be your inheritance at 21."

Harry beamed.

"Can we go and see it?"

James nodded.

James took Harry by Side-Along Apparition and Lily followed alone. They appeared outside a pair of gates. There was a detailed iron crest worked into the gates; a lion wrapped around a golden spear and three sheaves of wheat. Harry could see a vast stone house in the distance. James opened the gates and they stepped inside the grounds.

"The house is medieval," James said, "and belonged to the Peverells. It was their family seat," he said. "Of course, when my mother married into the Potter family, it became the legacy of the Potters. The Potter family seat is in Dorset, where my father's brother lives. If he dies without children, that will be ours as well."

Harry gaped in amazement as they walked down the wide path, up the hill, towards the house. They passed a lake, where a unicorn and her foal drank from the shallows; walked through a wood with trees so dense they could hardly see the sky, and finally reached the green lawns in front of the house, where the path swept majestically to the front door.

James knocked three times on the gold lion's head knocker. The door swung open.

"Now, I'm not sure what state the house is going to be in," he said warningly as they stepped over the threshold.

He needn't have feared. Something, or someone, had certainly kept the house clean and warm. The entrance hall was large; there was a fire roaring in the fireplace and the door through to the main hall was open. They stepped through, noting the fresh fires lit in every grate; the warm carpets and comfy armchairs and sofas. On the large table at the end of the hall, by the biggest fireplace, there lay a feast.

"Who...?" James began in confusion.

"Master has returned," a squeaking voice issued from near Lily's knee. She looked down at a white haired house elf; a smart tea towel draped over his small body held in place by a silver badge with the family crest.

"We saw you from the gate," he continued. "We have waited many years for your return. We have tried to welcome you as best as we can, so please sit and eat and the rest of the house will be made ready."

Harry wondered what Hermione would make of house elves lying in wait for years to wait until their family returned. He imagined she would not be too pleased.

"Thank you Grundle," James laughed, picking up the house elf and hugging him tight. Grundle squeaked in horror.

"I am an old elf, Master Potter. Please don't be throwing me around."

James placed Grundle on the ground.

"I am very glad to see you again," he said sincerely, watching the little elf run from the room.

The Potters sat at the dining table and began to eat.

"I had prepared a feast at Grimmauld Place for you and my friends, but I think I prefer this one," Harry said, his mouth full of mashed potato.

"Harry, how do you like the house?" Lily said, as she helped herself to roast chicken.

"I love it," Harry said, happily. "It reminds me of Hogwarts. Can we really live here?"

James nodded.

"Of course," he said.

Harry finished his mouthful and called for Kreacher, who appeared instantly, an apron tied neatly around his waist.

"Master called?" he said, looking curiously around the hall.

"Kreacher, this is my family home. I would like for you to come and live here too, but I understand if you do not want to leave Grimmauld Place. This is your choice, do you understand?"

Kreacher rocked backwards and forwards on his feet.

"This is not a hard choice," Kreacher said. "I would like to come with Master."

Harry smiled.

"I'm glad for that, Kreacher. Would you fetch all my things and bring them here? There are other house elves here who will show you where everything should go."

Kreacher bowed and disappeared.

Harry reached for a piece of steak, then stopped.

"I don't think I'll have enough appetite for a feast later if I keep eating now," he said reluctantly. James laughed and patted him on the back.

"Well, why don't we just ask everyone to come now?" James said. "You go and tell them, and we'll go and help the house elves get everything ready here. You'll have to leave the house, nobody can disapparate within these walls."

Harry left the room with a smile and a wave.

Lily and James wandered all over the house, reminiscing. Lily had only visited a few times, but she was struck again by the beauty of the house. They found James' old room, which they thought would be perfect for Harry. It overlooked the orchard at the back of the house. In the East Wing, they found a suite that was perfect for them; with large windows looking out onto the lake. The house elves had been hard at work lighting fires; brushing the carpets and dusting the ornaments. The house looked warm and friendly and just a little mysterious.

"I see what Harry means about it being like Hogwarts," Lily said happily, as they discovered the library on the ground floor at the back of the house. "Are there secret passages?"

James chuckled.

"You'll just have to wait and see," he said, grinning. Lily chased him around the library, giggling, as James ran from her.

"Tell me," she said breathily, as she finally caught him and pounced. They fell to the floor, laughing, and Lily pressed her lips to James'.

"Oh no, you are not going to charm this out of me!" James growled. "Where's your sense of adventure, Evans?"

Lily smirked.

"It's Potter now. And don't married couples share all?"

James cupped her cheek and stroked it gently.

"My Lily," he said softly. "Isn't this a glorious day?"

Lily beamed, leaning into his touch.

"It certainly is," she said happily. "Our son is brilliant, the war is over and a we have a beautiful home."

"Mum! Dad!"

Lily jumped up and held out her hand to James.

"I've just realised that our son is not much younger than we are," James said. "His friends parents are going to be a lot older than us."

They walked together back towards the Entrance Hall, suddenly a little nervous at meeting people who had known their son his whole life.

Harry stood in the entrance hall with Hermione and Ron on either side as they stared into the main hall.

"Oh Harry," Hermione said softly, "it's like Hogwarts."

Harry smiled at her.

"That's what I thought."

He turned to face the rest of the Weasleys and Luna.

"Please come in and sit down. There's loads of food."

The Weasleys settled themselves happily down at the table, but didn't eat, looking around instead at the entrance to the hall. Lily and James entered.

"Hello sweetheart," Lily said, approaching the table. "Thank you for coming," she said sweetly to everyone. "It's lovely to be able to welcome you to our home."

"It's good to have you back," Molly said. "I speak for all of us when I say that we are incredibly happy that this miracle has happened."

There were tears in her eyes as she sat back down.

The feast went on for hours. James, sat between George and Ginny, had a mischievous grin on his face as he recounted pranks from his Hogwarts days to most of the table. Lily and Hermione were deep in conversation about lessons for most of the meal, Hermione sharing with Lily her disappointment at not getting the chance to be Head Girl.

Harry sat among his family, contented. He looked around the Hall, for the first time feeling at home since Hogwarts. Number 4 Privet Drive had never been home, and neither had Grimmauld Place. Finally, with his parents, he had a home he could call his own, one that he would never have to leave.

Ginny squeezed his hand gently as she turned to face him.

"Happy?" she said, smiling. Harry nodded.

"Just look around. My parents are sat with me and my family and the war is over and I think I've only just realised that; and realised that there is good left. Sirius would be happy seeing this, as would Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks and Fred. I'm sorry I've been so selfish."

Ginny kissed his cheek.

"If you were selfish, it is the first time in your life you have ever been so," she whispered in his ear.

Lily watched the couple curiously, and nudged Hermione.

"Is that Ginny?" she asked.

"That's Ginny Weasley, yes. She and your son have been together since sixth year, although he broke up with her before we left to..."

"To hunt horcruxes," Lily nodded. Hermione looked at her, surprised.

"Harry told you?"

"He told us everything," Lily said. "So he broke up with her, all self-sacrificing, and now he's back, they're getting together again?"

Hermione nodded.

"I believe so. Although, Harry has been stuck in Grimmauld Place for the whole summer until today, so they haven't done much catching up."

"I imagine she'll be here a lot then," Lily said happily. "It will be nice to have girls around. Now, Hermione, I need to talk to you about something."

Lily whispered her plan to Hermione. Hermione smiled.

"I think we need to get Ginny in on this," she whispered. "It's really not fair otherwise."

Lily nodded.

"Meet me in the library tomorrow afternoon at 3 and bring Ginny."

Finally, Molly and Arthur rose and made their goodbyes. Bill, Fleur, Charlie and George got up with them, and so did Luna.

"We would love it if you three would stay," Lily said to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "There's plenty of room, and I understand you haven't seen Harry for a long time."

Harry smiled sheepishly.

Grundle appeared and led them to their rooms. Hermione treated Grundle with the utmost respect, but since this was what he was used to, he didn't notice any difference. He showed her to a room along the corridor from Harry and left her alone, after promising to return with a hot water bottle and milk and biscuits.

Hermione crossed over to the window and looked out over the grounds. Light spilled onto the lawn from the many windows. She smiled. She was so happy for Harry; finally having what he had deserved for so long: a beautiful home and loving family. There was a knock at the door and Ron popped his head round.

"Mione?"

Hermione smiled sadly and gestured to Ron to come in. They had decided soon after the Battle of Hogwarts not to take their kiss any further. It was the heat of the moment, they both said, and getting into a relationship and making things complicated without being sure if it was love would not be sensible.

"When should we tell Harry?" he said, as Hermione sat on the queen sized bed and starting taking off her shoes.

"Let it come up. He's focused on other things right now, and as long as we aren't arguing, I don't think he'll mind very much."

Ron grinned.

"I think we can manage that," he said, grimacing theatrically. "Harry's parents are great, aren't they?"

Hermione nodded, a speculative look on her face. Ron rolled his eyes.

"I bet you'll be in that library first thing tomorrow morning trying to figure out how they got here," he said, turning to leave the room. "Goodnight."

"Night Ron," she said thoughtfully, locking the door with her wand once Ron had left and undressing and getting into bed. Grundle reappeared with a pop, making Hermione jump.

"I have brought nightwear and some milk and biscuits," he announced, sliding a hot water bottle into the bed nimbly, and setting down a tray of milk and biscuits by the bed.

"Thank you, Grundle. You really didn't have to."

"Walls have ears, Miss Granger. I need to show you how proud I am to serve the Potter family, and you will receive nothing but expert care while you are here. I have my own pride, Miss."

Hermione nodded meekly. She had no doubt an elf working for the Potter family would be treated well. With a sigh, she leant back on the pillows and closed her eyes, milk, biscuits and nightgown forgotten. She fell into a deep sleep.

Harry looked around his father's old room, noting the moving Holyhead Harpies posters on the wall and the bedsheets covered with golden snitches. James laughed as he knocked on Harry's open door.

"Maybe we should update this," he said sheepishly. "I was a teenager when I last had this room."

Harry shook his head.

"I like it. It's the room I probably would have had if I had been brought up by you."

James patted Harry on the back.

"Sleep well, Harry. Just to warn you, your mother is planning on taking you shopping tomorrow. She's noticed all your clothes are really baggy."

Harry blushed.

"Dudley's old things," he muttered. "Goodnight, Dad."

James felt his heart contract slightly as he ruffled his son's hair and left the room. He made his way to his and Lily's room, where she was already tucked up in bed, a blissful smile on her face.

"I told Harry about shopping," James said, as he undressed and got into bed beside his wife.

Lily yawned and sat up.

"You should take him. I'm going to get to know Hermione and Ginny."

James narrowed his eyes.

"I recognise that tone, but I respect the need for mystery and secrets in our marriage," he said pompously. Lily whacked him gently on the arm.

"Yes, you were right dear," she said sleepily as she closed her eyes.


End file.
